Blood of Two Worlds
by xskyflyer
Summary: After 10 years of life, Karen Miller's life is pretty screwed up, and it doesn't help when she gets sucked into the most awesome video game of all time, and finds out her purpose is more life endangering than she could ever imagine...
1. Saving a dying world

Ohmigawd I am _sooo _bored.

Here I am, on a bright sunny day, sitting in my room, with absolutely _nothing _to do. At the moment, I'm attempting (and failing) to ignore the blistering heat, and trying to find something to amuse me for the next….oh I don't know…8 hours? At least?

You know what the worst part is? It is _summer vacation. _All my friends are ditching me to go to Hong Kong or France or –wait for it…- GREAT WOLF LODGE!!! My dad's at work, my mom's shopping, and my brother, because he's is such a _nice, caring _person left me aaaaaaaalllllllllllllll alone while he went to go and hang out with his friends, who _didn't_ ditch him.

Then you know things start to get really bad, when to find yourself wanting to do _work. _So I head over to my desk, open the top drawer and find myself pulling out a math book that has _Algebra can be Fun!!!_ in big red letters at the top of the front page. There's a picture of a beaver on lying on the _Fun_ and you know what? Screw you beaver. I'll go waste my life in front of the TV or something.

"To the basement I go!!!" I sing to myself, as I thump down the staircase, and headed towards my games. "Lesse….Super Smash Bros Melee…..Metroid Prime……AHA!!! Tales of Symphonia!!!!"

Goodbye boredom, hello mind-rotting entertainment! I inserted the small blue disc into my GameCube, grabbed a controller and plopped down onto a couch as I waited impatiently for the game to load.

_Finally _my patience was rewarded….sort of. I got as far as the main menu, but I couldn't start a new game because I found my fucking A button was stuck.

"Oh, for the love of god!!! Just _let me play_ the damn game already!!!" I shouted at my GameCube.

_Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of mana…_

"_Thank you_!" I sighed, and once again plopped down onto the couch. I glanced at the screen and-waiiittt a minute…I'm still at the main menu?? Why the hell am I hearing…

_A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place._

_Grieving over the loss, the goddess left the angels with the edict: 'You must wake me, for if I should sleep the world shall be destroyed._

Ohkay then…I'm hearing voices…not a good sign…

_The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens._

"Yeeaaahhhh….whoever you are…I'm just gonna…" I gestured towards the staircase with my hands. "Leave now…."

_And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world._

"Oh joy," I muttered under my breath.

I began walking towards the stairs, when my vision blurred. Okay, really bad timing. Shakily, I took another hesitant step, and collapsed.

_I awaken to find myself in darkness. Where am I?_

_I try to move my limbs, but they are unresponsive to my commands. An invisible force is paralyzing me, refusing to allow me to move._

_I lay there, frightened, unable to comprehend what is happening. I try to call out for someone, anyone to come and tear me out of this damned blackness, but I can make no sound. _

_And then I see it. _

_It's only a dot, but it is enough to give me a spark of hope, to help me break free. _

_A brilliant white light._

_Fear and curiosity drove me to claw my way towards the light. Bit by bit, the light became more and more defined. Closer…closer to breaking free._

_Finally, the light surrounds me and engulfs the black._

"Please help me,"

_I whirled around to the sound of the voice._

"Please help me save my dying world!" _a young woman with flowing green hair begged, her tone edged towards hysteria._

_But what can I do? No sound escapes my lips. _

_But the woman understands my question._

"Do what you were meant to do, what you were sent to this world for."

_But what? What do I do?_

_I do not get my answer. Instead, her image is blurred as her voice fades away._

"Please…."

"Please…"

"_Please help me save my dying world."_


	2. Two years stuck in a different galaxy

I gasp, my eyelids fluttering open.

First thing I see is a blond lady wearing a frilly baby blue dress next to me.

"Oh!" she squeaks. "Oh! You're awake!"

Next thing I see is her pretty blue dress turning red.

I vomit a fountain of blood.

"Ah!" the blond squeals.

I'm too confused to speak. Where am I? What happened? And…

"Who the hell are you?" I blurt out.

Blondie looks annoyed. "That's it? Who the hell are you?" she harrumphs. "Well, I suppose I can forgive you…considering you did faint in the middle of a field…Pretty bad timing if you ask me. That Insect Plant gave you some nasty wounds."

What? "I thought I was in my basement? Playing on my GameCube?"

"Gamecube?" Blondie giggled. "Ah…young ones. So immature. Play with a cube and calling it a _GameCube_."

"Where am I?"

"In Luin of course. Lucky Henry found you before an Ogre comes along and beats you up."

Luin? Is there any place on Earth called Luin?

"Hey…do you know if there's any way for me to get back to Toronto?"

"Toronto?" Blondie giggled. Damn that's getting annoying! "That's a funny name!"

"Y'know?" I waved my arms around. "Toronto, Ontario, Canada, North America, Earth, Milky Way, the Universe?"

Blondie stared. "Your injuries are worse than I thought….I'd better ask Pat for more medicine…"

"Pat?" I asked.

"Oh yes! Your mother is here! Which reminds me, I'd better tell her you're awake before she starts worrying _too _much…"

Mother??? My mother's name isn't Rose!

"Hey Blondie!" I called as she headed out the door.

"Blondie?" she looked thoughtful for a minute. "That has a nice ring to it!"

I gaped at her for a second. _That has a nice ring to it_? What's up with that? HEELLLOOOOO??? BLONDIE??? I JUST INSULTED YOU!!

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Rosie, but you can call me Blondie if you like!" she said with a smile. "It sounds really nice!"

Before Blon-um _Rosie_ left the room, a dark haired woman rushed in.

"_Karen!!!!"_ she sobbed, and grabbed me into a death hug. At the same time, she whispered into my ear. "Just play along okay? My name is Patricia Foxx-call me Pat-and I'm your mother. You are Karen Foxx. I'll explain everything later."

"Are you okay???" she demanded as she pulled back. "Does your arm hurt??"

"Um…I'm…fine…Mom…" The last word felt awkward on my tongue.

"Oh thank goodness!!" Back into the death hug.

"Pat…." Blondie hovered by the door. "I think you're hurting her…"

"Oh oops! I'm so sorry!" Pat blushed.

"That's okay. It didn't really hurt _that_ much." I let out a low, strained chuckle. LIES!!!! ALL LIES!!! OLD LADY HAS THE GRIP OF AN IRON CLAW!!!!!!!

"Rose…could you give me and my daughter a moment alone?" Pat asked.

"Of course!" came the reply. Blondie strolled over to the exit and shut the door quietly behind her.

"Okay, what the hell is going on??" I demanded. "Where the hell is Luin? Where is my real mother and…"

"Wait a minute," Pat held up her hand. "Let me get us some cookies!"

"How can I even think about….waiitt…did you say _cookies_?"

"Yup!"

"I…well…I guess I could have some." I STILL HAVE MY PRIDE!!! Cookies can solve any problem. Come on, admit it. _You know it's true! _"D'you have chocolate chip cookies?"

"Yes, I do." Pat hands me a couple. "Here you go."

I stare at the cookies in my hand. AHA!! Something familiar!!! Then I scarf them down.

"Hey Lady…" I began. "Where the hell is Luin?"

Pat hesitates before answering. "In Sylvarant."

"Sylvarant?" Where have I heard that name before? Sylvarant….Sylvarant…

"Have you ever heard of a video game called Tales of Symphonia?"

Right. ToS.

Wait.

Wait a minute….

"Luin?? _Sylvarant???? _I'm in a _video game?????" _I scream in her face.

Pat shifts uncomfortably. "Well…not exactly. You are in Luin, Sylvarant, Symphonia, Fornax Dwarf, the Universe."

"Fornax Dwarf?"

"It's a galaxy."

"So I'm in a video game in a different _galaxy??_ That makes things even worse!!!"

"No, you are _not _in a video game. This world is only _known_ as a video game on Earth. Symphonia, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla all exist, just as Earth exists."

I pause for a minute. "You know about Earth?"

"Yes. I know everything about Earth."

Anyhoo…back to my rant.

"So instead of a video I'm in a different galaxy??? Well _that_ makes things a _whole_ lot better. How do I get home?"

"Well…"

"Well _what?_"

"You can't."

"And why _not?_"

"Because….well…I don't know how to get you there."

"_What???"_ I yelled. "_I can't get home???_"

"No, I'm sorry."

Pat put on an unbelievably sad expression on her face. Damn it's hard to be angry with her like that!! I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"Sooo….if I can't get home…"

"If you can't get home…"

"Then what do I do?"

"Well…stay here."

"Stay _here_?"

"Yes."

"_Here??? _Where I'm _light years_ away from home?????"

"Yes."

And that was the time I decided to murder everything in my sight.

"How can someone so small make so much damage?"

"Well I did. Deal with it old man." I snapped.

An old man across the room was attempting to clean up the aftermath of my killing rampage. And considering my size, I actually did a pretty good job.

Now that I'm _somewhat_ calmer, I realized that it isn't _Pat's_ fault I can't go home……………

Or is it?

Just then, Pat came in. "Karen, may I talk to you for a minute? Privately?"

I groan inwardly, but forced myself to my feet and followed her into another room.

"Well?" I asked after Pat closed the door.

"I should be asking _you_ that." Pat replied. "So…what are you going to do?"

I paused for a minute. What _am _I going to do now?

"Are you _sure_ that there is no way for me to get back home?" I asked.

"Not that I know of."

"Are you _absolutely, positively, __sure__?_"

"Yes"

I sighed. "Then I guess I'll have to stay."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything that I told you, every single word in these chapters up until now happened two whole years ago, when I was just 10 years old.

Now if you think about it, all that is a lot for a 10 year old to take in. All that 'stuck in a different galaxy' shit.

But now I'm twelve. And I have even more to deal with.

I must deal with the fact that I'm going to die.


	3. Prisoner of my own kind

Heyyyyyyy!!! Three whole reviews and so far nobody told me how incredibly crappy my writing is!!!! YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYY 3

Anyhoo…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two years ago, I thought I had it rough.

Now I wish my life was _that_ easy.

A week ago, I was just learning how to cast Aqua Edge, a year after I learned I'm a half elf. Everyone in the village was acting like I don't exist. Except my two best friends, Avia and Darryl and of course, Pat. Turns out, she knew all along, except that she kept it a secret from everyone, including me, so I could live a normal life in Sylvarant, even if it was just for a little while.

Now I know I will never see any of them again. I won't see my Mom or Dad. I won't see my brother or my friends from Earth.

I will never see that green haired woman again.

And I will never discover my purpose in this godforsaken world.

"OW!!" I complained, my best friends Avia and Darryl standing over me; Darryl with a tree branch pointed at my throat.

"Come _on_ Shrimp!" Darryl urged, using a nickname that I absolutely hate. "Get up already!!!"

"But my arm hurts!" I whimpered, and then pointed an accusing finger at him. "You poked it too much!!!"

"Suuuuuuuuuuure," Darryl rolled his eyes. "Like I'm going to _poke _your arm to death."

"You already have," I muttered. "That tree branch is evil. Pure evil."

"Dar-_ryl_ Give it a rest." Avia sighed. "You're a full _two years_ older than her. Of course you'd be able to knock her down. Especially since it's _you._"

"Violent aren't you?" I shook my head and _tsk_ed. "That is no way to be a role model for the children."

"Well at least people actually _listen_ to me!" Darryl shot back. "Unlike you two because of your age and…" his voice trailed off, realizing what I would hear in his words.

"Idiot," Avia said under her breath.

"Sorry Karen…" Darryl apologized.

"It's okay!" I reassured him. "It's not like it's you're fault everyone in Luin is shunning because…because…"

"Because you're a half elf," Avia finished.

Darryl's face darkened. "What is it with these people and half-elves??? It's not like you did anything to them!"

I looked up at the sky. _Why is it that half-elves are so hated in this world? _I mean sure, Desians are half-elves, but my…-I had to force the word out, even in my thoughts it was difficult-_race_ was hated even _before_ the Desians existed. After all, the so-called Hero _Mithos_ *coughcoughYGGDRASILLcough* and the oh-so-mighty Martel were discriminated like hell 4, 000 years ago. I mean, we are different, but isn't everybody? Or are we _too _different? Is there even such thing?

"It's almost noon," Avia said. "We should be heading back to Luin now."

"You guys go ahead," I told them. "I want to stay behind a little longer to practice some more."

Both of them nodded, understanding that what I really wanted was to be alone.

"Alright, if you're sure…" Avia trailed off.

"Definitly," I gave them a forced, reassuring smile. "Tell Mom that I'll be back to eat lunch in an hour okay?"

"Sure," Avia agreed as she pulled off two of her blades attached to both of her arms, and Darryl threw away his tree branch and sheathed his sword.

"See ya!" Darryl called as the two of them left.

I listened as the muffled my best friends' muffled footsteps faded away. I looked around, to find my twin fans lying in the dirt a few feet away from me. I picked them up, and examined them as the sun glinted off the razor sharp blades attached to the edges.

After two years of practice, I was getting a lot better with them, even if Avia could still easily kick my ass from here to the Triet Desert. I took a few more practice swings with it, and then flopped down onto the ground.

_Damn it's a beautiful day today._ _I wonder what everyone is doing at home?_

Even after spending so much time in Luin, everyday I still expect to wake up and find myself in my tiny room with my mother standing in the doorway, nagging me to get up. Instead, everyday I wake up feeling the same disappointment as the day before, seeing myself surrounded by the now familiar wooden walls. I always question whether or not this really is a dream, but I think I may be afraid of the answer. I'm still waiting for the day to come, that I'll wake up from this fucked up dream and have a good laugh about it with my friends, about how gullible and screwed up I am. But everyday, I wonder whether or not that day will ever come.

That's when I heard the rustling.

"Avia? Darrrrryyyyyyyyyyylllllllllllllll?" I called out. "If you think you I can't hear you sneaking up on me, then you're both more of an idiot than I thought."

I paused, listening for any other signs of movement, but I heard none.

"Helloooooooooooo?" I took a hesitant step toward the sound of the rustling.

Then I heard someone behind me.

I whirled around, but it was too late.

The next thing I saw was blackness.

I awoke, but could see nothing

I was instantly reminded of two years ago…when I came to this world; a world that I am still not entirely sure is real. It _seems_ real, but too unbelievable to be true.

For a split second, hope bursts inside me.

I feel the same gut-wrenching feeling piercing through my stomch as before. I am trapped in the dark.

Except I do not feel afraid.

Because I am going home.

Back to my life, back to reality.

Back to the arms of my _real_ mother, the teasing of my _real_ brother, the encouragements of my _real _father.

Back to my friends.

Back to my bed, my room, my friends, my family, my house…

Back to _my _world.

And I drift off to sleep, my lips curved up at both corners, to know that soon…

I will be back home.

_Home._

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Is this Earth?_ I wonder.

I try to move, but fail to. I feel restrained. As if I still have control over my limbs, but that control means nothing.

Because my arms are tied behind my back.

I am still blinded. My eyes do not work, but my other senses do.

I can smell fresh air.

I can taste something wet and fuzzy in my mouth.

I can feel my arms tied behind my back.

But most of all, I can _hear._

Voices.

"Is she the one?" a male voice asks.

"My Lord, traces of _his_ mana signature can be found in hers." A confident female voice answer the gruff one, silkily.

"And that means?"

"Well…" the female's voice falters.

"Well?"

"We're not entirely sure."

"And why not?"

"We…we need a sample of the mother's mana signature."

"Then get it."

"But…"

"But?" the male's voice demanded.

"We're…still in the process of tracking down the mother."

Silence.

"Take a sample of the girl's mana signature. Compare it with every full-blooded elf you can find. I want the mother found as soon as possible."

"Yes my Lord."

Footsteps fading away.

"Lord Botta."

A gruff voice joins in.

"What is it?" Botta answers.

"The Chosen One will be receiving the oracle tomorrow."

"Damn!" Botta cursed. "We'll have to take the Rheairds in order to get to the Church of Martel to stop her in time. I'm leaving the girl in your care. Bring her to the base immediately, and await further orders from Lord Yuan there. Do not allow her to escape under any circumstances. I do not want recklessness to foil our plans _again._"

"Yes my Lord."

"You are to take my place as leader of this group. Do not fail me again."

"I can assure you I will not."

"Good."

Heavy footsteps walk away from where I am placed.

I realize I've been holding my breath for quite some time now. I exhale sharply.

Something hard hits the side of my head, and I once more drift off to sleep…

I awaken.

I smell a horrible stench.

Are we moving? Whatever is underneath me is making me go up and down. A lot. And it is _not_ fun.

To make things worse, it is

Unbelievably.

Incredibly.

Aboslutely, positively

_Hot._

I try to move, but my arms are still unable to move. Right. My arms are tied behind my back.

My mind is much clearer, as the previous day's events flooded back to me.

_Is she the one?_

One? What _one_? I thought if anyone would be _the one_, it would be Lloyd, or Colette (if they actually _do _exist.) or someone else who would be in their group of heroes/heroines, not some random almost-teen who just h_appened _to be stuck in this world because who-knows-why?

Then I remember the green haired-lady. Martel?

_Do what you were meant to do, what you were sent to this world for._

Oh gawd. So maybe I really am _the one,_ whatever the hell _the one_ is, or suppose to do.

_Please help me save my dying world._

No. Fucking. Way.

Back at home-mentally correct myself- _Earth_, I barely had the guts to even kick anyone. How the hell am I suppose to save a dying world?

Unanswered question. Damn that's not good. Considering I'm probably going to get a crapload of those things while I'm here.

Moving on before I become depressed.

_My Lord, traces of _his_ mana signature can be found in hers._

I have a mana signature? I mean, I know I'm in Sylvarant and everything, but aren't I from _Earth? _Do people from Earth have a mana signature? Or maybe it's called DNA back there.

And who the hell is _his_? Why didn't they say his name? The female said the name with interest. Why are parts of _his_ mana signature in mine anyways?

ZOMG!! I'M CONTAMINATED BY A STRANGER!!!!

I swear, I'm going to go into depression. And it won't be pretty when I do.

_We…we need a sample of the mother's mana signature._

Mother? My mother is back on Earth. Isn't she?

_Take a sample of the girl's mana signature. Compare it with every full-blooded elf you can find. I want the mother found as soon as possible_.

Okay…according to them…my mother is a full-blooded elf.

And I'm a half-elf, which means my father is a human.

Does that mean my mother back home is an elf in Sylvarant/Tethe'alla standards?

My mother can do _magic_?

Oh. My. God.

Not good.

_*Mental image of my mom casting Fireball on my brother when she's pissed off.*_

That was when I promised myself I would do whatever I could not to let her turn on _me._

Unless of course, I learn to cast something even more awesome, like FLAME LANCE or EXPLOSION on her.

MOVING ON

_Lord Botta._

Wait a minute.

Lord _**Botta**_?

_Bring her to the base immediately, and await further orders from Lord Yuan there._

Lord Yuan.

Lord _**Yuan**_

And _**Botta.**_

_Bring her to the base immediately…_

The base…

The _Renegade_ Base.

_I'm a prisoner of the Renegades._

Guess I'm not going home after all.

It was staring right at me in the face _all this time._ And I _just_ figured it out.

Shit.

I have to get out of here.

I grabbed onto the rope that was binding my arms. When I found it, I gave it a tug, hoping that it would miraculously break. It didn't.

Obviously.

I need to find another way to get this.

If only I have a knife…

Maybe that's asking for too much.

If only I have some fire.

Oh wait. I do.

I can't really do much magic without my fans, but what fire I _can_ make should be enough to burn through rope.

I hope.

Yes, I know I'm _that_ pathetic. No need to rub it in my face.

I conjured up a small flame in my palm and grabbed onto the rope and….

It burned right through! HA!!! I'm _not _so pathetic after all!!!!

Then both my hands suddenly felt very, _very_ warm.

DAMNDAMNDAMNDAMN

I yelped (which was muffled by the way) and I wrestled with the sack I was contained…hidden…whatever…in. Finally broke free of the evil brown bag of doom, jumped off an-apparently wagon pulled by an evil scary giant lizard thing from what I saw in my peripheral vision. I yanked a slimy wet gag out of my mouth, and then immediately began running like my life depended on it. Well, my life _did _depend on it but that's not the point.

"What the-"

"Stop her!"

About time.

I ran faster than I've ever run before. This really sucks since I have absolutely _no_ lower body strength, so I've always useless at running. Even with an adrenaline rush coursing through my body, I was going pretty slow.

"Use the Mircobiotic Electrifier!"

Wait, what?

My knees buckled underneath me as something near my right shoulder sent an electric current through me. I gasped as the breath was knocked out of me, and my mind clouded as I crumpled to the ground.

"Damn…" I cursed, gasping for air.

Damn. I have to get away.

My vision blurred, but I easily recognized two Renegades recapturing me. This time, instead of feeling the rough scratch of a rope, I felt something cold and hard yanked on my wrists.

Chains.

_Damn…_I thought as my strength slowly drained away from my limbs.

_Damn…_

_Damn…_

_I __ha__ve t__o get__away__…_

Walls. Stone walls surround my on all four sides. Chains tie me to the back wall. There is a small metal door in the middle of the wall in front of me.

I'm at the Renegade base.

Now I don't have a chance of escaping. I wonder what the Renegades want with me? Will they torture me every fucking day I'm imprisoned here? Will they kill me? If they do, will they be merciful and be quick about it? Or will they ensure that I feel pain to the very last second of my death?

Now what the hell will happen after I die? Is there an afterlife? I never really have been religious. I never thought about how this world_(s) _were created. I just kind of thought _Heyyy!!! We're here, on Earth, we're alive so why not live life and enjoy it instead of pondering on stupid questions nobody can answer!_ Now I'm praying with all I have to whatever god will actually bother to listen to me that there would be something good waiting for me when I leave this world…universe…whatever.

To my absolute horror, I heard the rattling of keys.

So they've come for me.

A female and a male Renegade stepped into my cell.

The woman bent down to unclasp the cuffs on my limbs with a small brass key.

The man yanked me up just as the woman finished and pressed a dagger to my throat. "Don't even think about trying to escape. We've got guards posted everywhere, all armed and highly skilled."

Dude, like I don't know that already? Except for the 'highly skilled' part, considering Lloyd was able to escape in the game all by himself. Then again, it is a video game. This unfortunately, is not. The woman got up and brought both my arms behind my back and cuffed me again, and they led me out of the cell, dagger still against my throat.

Outside was another small group consisting of oh I don't know….another 30 RENEGADES!!! If this wasn't reality, then I'd probably be flattered by the number of escorts, um guards Yuan sent to bring me…wherever. I'll take that as a sign that Yuan _really _doesn't want me to escape. Like I'm going to be able to battle my way through 30 armed Renegades without a weapon myself.

I wish.

I really, _really_ wish.

The group of bodyguards led me down a pristine, white hallway, with many twists and turns. Dammit, reason why I have absolutely no hope of escape. In the game, the Sylvarant Base is big. In reality it's _huge. _Every corridor looks the same: freakishly clean, pearly white with occasional door that are all an identical light blue sliding doors with a dark circle in the middle. This place is like a fricken _maze_ with monsters coming at you at all directions intending to KILL.

Finally, I was led to another identical sliding door, and the group of guards halted. One of the Renegades rant up to the door and pressed a buzzer.

"What is it?" a calm, male voice asked.

"My Lord," the Renegade responded. "We have brought the prisoner as you ordered."

There was a short pause before the 'Lord' answered. "Very well."

The Renegade placed his hand on a scanner, which quickly accepted him with a short, 'Enter'.

The sliding doors opened, and the Renegades led me into the room,

Aaaaaaaaannnnnnnddddddddd the first thing I see is blue-haired-tied-into-a-ponytail Yuan!

Shit.

"Were you able to uncover anything?" Yuan asked a blond male Renegade.

"Not much my Lord," he answered. "The girl's mind seemed to be protected by some kind of barrier."

Really? Awesome!!!

"Though we did find out that she knows nothing," added a small brunette.

Yuan fixed his gaze on the brunette, who almost instantly cringed away from his stare.

Yuan turned to the blonde. "Why did you not inform me of this?"

Like the brunette, the blonde recoiled from Yuan's glare. "Er…well…I…"

"Never mind. I have no time for this." Yuan strolled over to me. "What plans do your parents have for you? Why are you in this world?"

What? My mom wanted me to be a doctor; my dad really doesn't care what I do. But I have a feeling that Yuan isn't talking about them, so I responded with an amazing intelligent "Huh?"

Yuan sighed.

"Take the girl to room AOZ12. I want some answers by dusk." He told the blonde, and he swung his cape and strolled out of the room.

What the hell is room AOZ12? It can't be good because members of the group began glancing nervously at each other; some had blank looks and others looked smug, almost happy. Without another word, the blonde led me and my guards out of the room and through a few more corridors, until we approached yet another sliding door with the symbols _AOZ12 _engraved in navy blue on the right.

Dagger at my throat, the blonde and two other male Renegades enter the room with me. And…

Ho-ly _shit_.

Weapons. _Deadly _weapons are all around me. Daggers, swords, razor blades, axes, hammers, machetes are _all around me_.

Some of them stuck _in human bodies._

Arms hacked off. Glassy, lifeless eyes staring up at me from heads no longer attached to a body, mouth wide open in a scream that will never be finished. Pieces of human flesh, bones broken down and detached, and blood covering every square inch of the room.

I'm in a torturing room.

And I'm about to be tortured until I give some answers, whatever answers I know.

The thing is, I don't have any answers. If I don't have any answers, how can I give any?

So then when do they stop torturing me?

What really sucks is, something, deep down in my gut, tells me they won't.


	4. Pain Physical and Emotional

Damn this _hurts._

Sure, I read this kind of pain in books like the _Twilight Series_.But who knew that pain could be so sharp? So real? Barely anyone knows the meaning of true pain. I didn't either until this second.

There are 8 different fucking wires, _stuck in my body. _A few sends small jolts of electricity. Those aren't so bad.

The rest electrocute my like hell. Think static electricity. Only about a hundred thousand times worse.

No, not even that is even _close_ to what this feels like.

It feels like my insides are my collapsing. It feels like my heart is going to burst through my chest every beat it takes. It feels like my stomach is being crushed, my lungs are exploding. It feels like my brain is going into overdrive, like blades are ripping apart my skin bit by bit and like every nerve in my body is being crushed.

And then it stopped.

"Well?" The blonde asked.

I gasped, vomiting blood. My eyes dart back and forth all around the room, until my gaze settles of him. I stare at him, with fear of what he would do next, like a mouse at the mercy of razor claws of a ferocious feline.

I pant, trying to catch my breath that keeps fluttering just out of my reach. I shake my head weakly…

And the pain starts again.

For the 5th time.

Or maybe 10th. Or 50th. Or 100 000th. I don't know. I've lost track already.

I begin thrashing, but my bindings do not allow that. I'm too weak from the torture to break free.

And then my screams escape my lips.

I raised my head as far as it would go, and I let loose a bloodcurdling scream.

A small part of my brain noticed the Renegades retreated to a far corner of the room, as far away from me as possible and clamped their hands over their ears. Some of them squeezed their eyes shut, and others stared, probably thankful that they were not me.

I wish I could say the same.

The pain stops again.

"I don't want to hurt you," The blond says softly. "I hate torturing people, especially my own people. But if I don't, then I'll suffer the same fate as you. If you would just give up and tell us something, anything, then I'll stop."

"I…don't know anything!" I gasp.

He sighs. "Even so, I'm afraid I have no choice."

_Dammit!_ I don't have anything to tell them. Why can't they just stop?

"Please…" I choke out weakly. "Stop…"

But the torturing continues on.

"I can't take this…" I whimper. "Stop…I'm begging you…"

And it stops.

I fall to the ground, face first.

"Marcus, what are you doing?" Someone asked.

"It's not right." Marcus answered.

I looked up at him questioningly.

"Lord Yuan is going to kill you," a black haired Renegade warned him. "He already gave you a second chance; you're not getting another one."

"I know," he sighed. "I just can't do it. She doesn't deserve to be tortured."

For a few minutes, I was unable to speak.

"So you're letting me go?" I asked my voice still weak from torture.

"Yeah," he answered, and smiled. "Don't blow it and get captured again alright?"

Marcus glanced at the Renegades standing behind him. "You guys should get out so you can say you had nothing to do with this."

With his words, each of the Renegades hurried out of the room. Marcus led me to a ventilation shaft and quickly opened it.

"Go!" he urged. "You can't be caught here!"

I hesitated. I still wanted to know something. "Why are you helping me? Why are you risking your life for me?"

Marcus paused. "I don't know," he admitted. "Now go! Yuan already knows that I'm a traitor. I don't want to sacrifice my life for nothing."

"But-"

I didn't get the chance to finish, because Marcus pushed me in and I tumbled into the darkness.

Okay. I'm in a room. With many, many strange looking gadgets that I'm trying not to break. Now what? After hours of climbing around in a maze in the friggin _darkness_, until I finally found a room that was Renegade-less. I'm too chicken to go outside, just in case the halls are swarming with Renegades, but I can't stay here forever either. I would go back into the vent, but I really, _really _don't want to go back to tumbling around in the darkness either. I think I'm claustrophobic now.

I can't help but wonder what happened to Marcus. _Lord Yuan is going to kill you__. _The Renegade soldier's words echo in my hand. Damn guilt. _He already gave you a second chance; you're not getting another one._Second chance…which means he betrayed Yuan once before? Will Marcus die? I can't help but worry. I mean, this is the man who helped me escape, even though he knew that big scary Yuan with a friggin ponytail is after him. I can't just ignore that.

So, yeah. Right now I'm debating between what I want to do, (Save my ass) or what I should do (Save Marcus').

Well, finally I develop some backbone and decide to get the hell out of this room before someone finds me here. Something tells me that not everyone is this building is as self-sacrificing as Marcus. Life would be so much easier if that was true, but _noooo,_ life _has_ to be difficult.

Sooo…I open the door a _tiiiiiiiiny_ crack to peep outside aaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnd

Oh shit.

Apparently, the crack wasn't tiny enough. Or all the Renegades have friggin keen The Renegades immediately spotted me after I opened the door with a barely audible _whiiirrrrr_ sound. So I did what first came to my mind.

I made a mad dash _right through _the mob of Renegades.

I've never really been any good at making quick decisions under pressure, and I've been known to do some really stupid things. But I didn't think I would actually be idiotic enough to run _right into_ the people who want to kill me. Or really, recapture me and torture me until the end of my days. Either way is not good, but the second one somehow sounded a lot worse.

"Hey! That's the girl Lord Yuan ordered us to recapture!" Someone behind me yelled in realization.

I am so glad the Renegades are slow.

"After her!!!!" came a cry, followed by the shouts and thumping of his other companions.

Okay. I'm unarmed. I'm screwed. I can just barely use magic without my fans. I fail at combat fighting. I'm screwed. There are three armed, trained and scary Renegades running after me. I'm screwed. I have no idea where the hell I'm going. I'm screwed. There's bound to be more Renegades coming. I'm trapped in this base. I'm screwed. I have no clue where the exit is.

So yeah. I'm screwed.

So…what are the good parts of this situation?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

…I have yet to fill out that mental list.

I glance behind me, only to see that the Renegades are gaining on me. I'm at my limit. I'm exhausted. My legs are burning, my heart is beating right out of my chest, and my breathing is ragged and uneven. Damn my un-athleticism. Damn my poor endurance. Damn crappy pathetic lower body strength.

The Renegades are less than three metres behind me.

Damndamndamndamn.

I'm screwed.

Avia, Darryl, Pat…they all must be worried about me. I wonder if they'll ever get to see me again, even if it is just a lifeless corpse. I'm not worried about how everyone else in Luin will deal with my so-called death; After all, I am just a half-elf. A worthless half-elf.

Mom…Dad…Brian…all my friends back home. What are they doing? Do I still exist back there? If I do, how are they dealing with my disappearance? Do they think I'm dead? If they do, how do they think I died? Are police forces out there, looking for my body this instant? Or have they abandoned the case? Abandoned me?

All the people I love…will I ever see them again? Somehow, I don't think I will.

The Renegades are so close that they could reach out and touch me if they wanted to.

I don't want to be a prisoner. I hate the idea of having my fate in someone else's hands, in this case, Yuan. I hate not having any idea of what's going to happen to me. I hate having my movements limited. Most of all, I hate the feeling of being trapped, imprisoned…

And knowing there's not one thing you can do about it.

In my peripheral vision, I can see one of the Renegades raising their sword. In one last, desperate attempt, I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed "Help me!" my pleading ringing in both words.

The next second, my tunic is splattered with blood.

But not my blood.

I hear a startled cry. I look up to see the Renegade's sword frozen in the air, mere inches above my head. His brown eyes are opened wide, and I could see the shock and the fright in his eyes. Frighten because he knows his life is ending.

All because of a sword struck through his heart.

"Run!" I heard someone yell into my ear.

And run I do. I dart to the nearest door, and I hear my rescuer and the group of Renegades running after me. I can hear the dieing Renegade, gasping his last few breaths in this world. Lying on the floor, clothes stained with his own blood. I couldn't bear to look back, in fear that the sight I would see would be a copy of the image in my head.

"Demon Fang!" I hear someone shout behind me. God, I hope that's not a Renegade.

Just a bit more…and I made it through the automatic sliding doors.

I instantly fell to my knees. My chest was heaving, I was pathetically wheezing for breath, my legs were burning, and my legs hurt like hell. I knew that the Renegades could just could still simply run through the doors and stick their sword in my chest like...like…

What happened to their comrade.

Oh my god. A man just died before my eyes. A man with a life. Somewhere out there, there is someone who just lost a father, or a brother, or a husband, or a beloved, or a close friend.

Along with a piece of themselves.

I stared blankly at the marble white floor in front of me. I've never known anyone in my life who died, let alone someone close to me. I could only imagine what the pain felt like. But now I know a different kind of pain. The pain of watching someone die, right before your eyes, less than a meter away from me.

And it's much worse than the physical torture I went through earlier.

"You okay?" asks my rescuer behind me.

I take a few more deep breaths, to calm myself before I totally freak out. Then I stand up, and peek over my shoulder to look at my rescuer in the eye.


	5. Lloyd, his awesomeness and his stupidity

**Wah. I hate this chapter. =( I wish I could change it, but I need this chappy to fit in with the story. Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but with school work, piano exams, dance performances, social life problems and such, I didn't really get the chance to write that much. I'll do better next time, I promise =D**

**~Thankee to all my reviewers/fav. story-ers/fav. author-ers/story alert-ers!**

**-----------------------------------**

Lloyd.

His deep brown eyes gaze back at me, concern and anxiety flickering in his eyes. His outfit looks exactly like the one in the game. The bright red jacket we all know and love, with silver buttons running down both sides of the shirt, and along the sleeves as well, worn with navy blue towers, tucked into red boots. His white ribbons hung down behind his back, limb and useless, as Lloyd stood above me. His hair was sticking up into the air in its messy do, somehow defying the laws of gravity. I noticed his forehead was lined with sweat drops, proving the effort he put into saving me from the Renegades and such. My gazed wandered down to his bright red gloves, and sure enough, on his left hand was mounted his exsphere. His mother.

Then I noticed his sword, and realized there was something I completely overlooked, something I completely missed in my examination. Something that made my stomach churn just at the thought of it. The sword was simple, though not as much as the wooden blades Lloyd starts out with in the game. The lighting in the room glinted off the blade, closest to me, held by the hand with Lloyd's exsphere mounted on it, as he gripped its green-blue handles tighter. I've seen many swords in my two years in Sylvarant, yet the twin swords Lloyd wielded had a majestic feeling to it. As if the wielder himself had suddenly made the blades seem more powerful than they really are. I would have been totally dazzled by it if I had not seen that something I saw.

And that something was blood.

Blood. I'm sick of blood. Before I came to this world, I had no trouble watching the red liquid ooze out of my skin. But when a sword plunges through someone's heart…a mere few inches away…the sight of blood is difficult to forget. When you know someone's life has been ripped away from them, and you know someone out there is suffering because of that life, the burden of that man's life, combined with the pain of his loved ones, feels as heavy as a planet.

Now that I've seen the blood, I noticed his entire body was covered in it, though I figured not all was his own. Scarlet blots can be just barely seen against Lloyd's jacket, of a similar color. His ribbons are more noticeable, long trails of blood leaking downwards, until the liquid reaches the end, and falls to the marble white ground with a small _plink_. All of that could've have been easily mistaken as tomato juice, if not the salty smell reeking from Lloyd's clothes and the scene that has just happened what seemed like lifetimes ago.

"Hey…you okay?" Lloyd repeats, his voice wavering. Obviously the events that unfurled affected him as well, though not nearly as much as it affected me.

"Do I _look _okay?" I snapped. "After being taken away from my home, with no idea what the hell is going to happen to me, getting shocked, being chained up and locked in a cell, being tortured for answers I don't know, crawling around a vent knowing that someone good out there may have died for me, running away from Renegades with crappy endurance and seeing someone die right next to me I'm sure everything is just fine and _dandy._" I spit out the last word.

Lloyd looked pissed. "Well, it's not like my life has been great! An entire village got burned down because of me, and then I got banished from my home. Then I spent about three days fighting monsters I've never seen before with a tiny bit of supplies in search of someone who I have no idea where she is. And then I got captured and my best friends must be worried sick about me, and I have no idea whether he's safe or not. And to top it all off I have to listen to you ramble on ungratefully when I just killed someone to save you!"

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down, though it didn't really help much. I _had_ been pretty bitchy to Lloyd, considering the fact that I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him. Well, I probably would be alive, just lying on the floor, wheezing for breath with my chest cut open, and a nice fountain of blood pooling out of me.

"Sorry," I apologized hastily, ducking my head down in embarrassment. "I just…I'm just freaking out about what just happened."

"S'okay." Lloyd sighed. "I understand. That was not something I planned to see."

"Not exactly on my 'To Do' list either," I agreed. "So anyway, thanks. For saving me I mean."

"No problem. Wait no," he backtracked. "What I mean to say was…"

"It's okay, I get it." I cut in, to save him any more embarrassment.

"Pretty bad timing huh?"

"Yeah," I stood up. My legs were still trembling from the sight of that man…eyes wild and scared…mouth open in a scream…

No. I refuse to see that picture in my head any longer.

"Want to…get out of here?" I asked. "Y'know, before more Renegades come?"

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Lloyd agreed, then he paused. "Wait, Renegades?"

Shit. Did I say that? I forgot Lloyd isn't supposed to know about the Renegades yet. I decided to play along with the original story for now. I'd figure out the rest later. "Desians! I…I mean Desians." I stammered.

Lloyd nodded slowly. "Still shaken? From that…scene I mean."

"Yeah," I said quickly. Too quickly. "That."

Luckily, Lloyd thought nothing more of it. "Do you have a weapon?"

"Well, I know how to use one if that's what you mean," I replied. "I know how to use fans." _Just not very well._ I concluded silently. "And no, I don't have it right now in case you haven't no-."

"Wait a sec," Lloyd cut me off, and reached into an abnormally large pocket in his trousers. "Are these yours?"

He held out a familiar pair of forest green fans with silver streams curling elaborately, twisting and turning into a shimmering, symmetrical floral design.

"Yes!" I gasped, taking back my fans. "Thanks."

Lloyd nodded. "Well, you're welcome. Oh yeah! By the way I'm Lloyd. Lloyd Irving." He held out his hand.

I hesitated, then took his hand and replied, "Karen Foxx."

He grinned. "Nice to meet you Karen."

"Nice to meet you too, "I answered with a shy smile, then glanced nervously at the door behind me. "_Now _can we get out of here?"

"Yeah," Lloyd agreed as he headed towards the door. "We wouldn't want anymore Desians to come after us.?"

"Hey!" I called after him, "Shouldn't we try to find a different way out?"

"Why?"

"Because those Rene-Desians who you didn't kill-" My voice faltered as I forced the word through my lips, while trying to push the bloody sight of that man out of my mind "-still know we're here, so they probably called for backup to recapture us. Especially since I doubt they would want any more of their men…moving on no matter how cold and heartless they seem. That door is the obvious way out of this room, so the Desians probably expect us to use it. There's most likely a whole mob of Desians waiting outside to ambush us."

Lloyd cocked his head to the side. "Run that by me again?"

I sighed. Lloyd in real life is wayyy worse than Lloyd in the game, _if _that's possible. "Basically, walk through that door and you walk right into a death trap."

"Ok-ay…" Lloyd screwed up his face in confusion while trying to comprehend my words.

"Just rust me on this one okay? We don't have time for another long explanation." The words already left my mouth when I realized that Lloyd really has no reason to trust me. We just met, and know nothing about each other. Or rather, _he _knows nothing about _me._ I could be leading him to his death for all he knows. But instead, to my absolute surprise, Lloyd shrugged and said "Whatever."

Wow. Real-Lloyd really is hopeless.

"How can you trust me so easily?" I demanded shaking my head at him. "We just met and know nothing about each other."

"I know your name."

"That doesn't count."

"Well, you've never given me any reason not to trust you. Besides, I already know that the Desians see you as an enemy. So if we have the same enemy, it means we're on the same side, right?"

I sighed at Lloyd's pathetic logic. How does someone like him get through 17 years of life alive? "Lloyd, consider the possibilities. The Desians and I could've made it an act to relieve suspicion so you would trust me. Or maybe both you and the Desians are my enemies. Or maybe I'm a selfish bitch who doesn't give a damn about what happens to you and is using you just to get myself out of here. You can't just randomly trust people you see."

"Geez, why do you have to make things so complicated? Are we gonna find another way out or not?"

"Okay. Any ideas?"

"Well, there's always the vent."

"Hell no!"" I grimaced. "Do you have any idea how long it's going to find a Rene-Desian-less room to climb into? Especially since this place is going to be swarming with guards looking for us."

"Fine. Then what you do think?"

I paused, and looked around the room. There were no obvious alternate routes, until I saw an empty space on my right. Funny how every square inch of the wall is covered in machinery except for that space…it's like something's there that no one can see. Maybe there is.

Like an exit.

I noticed that the computer closest to that vacant area had a different structure than all the other in the small room. In this case, while majority of the computers had their screens built into the walls, and the keyboards built into silver desks in front of them, this computer along had no keyboard at all.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Lloyd asked me as I headed towards the keyboardless computer.

"It'll take too long to explain. Especially to you."

"What's that suppose to mean???"

'Nothing," I waved my hand in the air, signaling that he should go away. "Now shut up. I need to concentrate."

The computer was already on as I approach it. On the screen were 9 blanks, a little rope, and a jumble of letters.

"I don't get it," Lloyd said bluntly as he peered over my shoulder.

"So what else is new?" I muttered.

I placed my index finger on the first random letter I saw, which just happened to be a 'P', and dragged it to the first blank. Almost immediately, the 'P' disappeared as the computer sang a sad 'beep', and a circle formed underneath the rope.

Hangman. Cute.

"I _still _don't get it," Lloyd muttered.

"You don't need to." I replied.

I decided to go with the strategy I always use for hangman: start with the vowels. I began with the letter 'E', the most common vowel in English language. I dragged it to the first blanks, and it disappeared, while the hangman's body formed. I did the same with 'A', then 'I' then 'O', then 'U' then 'Y'. Nothing changed. Every time, the same disappearance, the same sad 'beep' and a new body part.

I stared in disbelief. _None_ of the vowels work? What kind of word is that? The man was already almost fully dead. I only had one chance left, before, I'm assuming an alarm will go off.

Then it hit me. What if the vowels do work, it's just I have to put them in the right place?

Ah shit.

Well, it's obvious that I can't keep on guessing, though I probably know this one. Too bad it's been two years at least since I last played the friggin game.

Okay. We're in the Renegade Base. The leader of the Renegades is Yuan, whose underling is Botta, who I know nothing about. Okay moving on to Yuan. Yuan's fiancé is, was Martel, who's brother is Mithos, who traveled with Kratos. Kratos fiddled around in bed with Anna, who got pregnant with Lloyd. Okay, so far no luck. The longest names there are are Martel, Mithos and Kratos, all 6 letters. Only three more to go. Sigh.

Martel Mithos and Kratos…wait, Mithos has a different name doesn't he? It was something like…Yggy, Ygadrisil, Yamdrasiele, Yggdrasil.

Y-G-G-D-R-A-S-I-L

9 letters. Woot.

I was about the drag the right letters to the right blanks, until I heard Lloyd's footsteps behind me. Sigh. Lloyd isn't suppose to know about good ol' Yggy yet.

"Lloyd, go make yourself useful and guard the door or something."

The footsteps continued on.

I turned. "Lloyd-"

Only it wasn't him.

Ah shit.

Looks like it's too late to ask him to guard the door.

**Okay, Okay I know. Crappy chapter. But it gets better! Promise! More of Lloyd's stupidity coming up =D**

_**~ xXKarrineAngelXx**_


	6. Too late guard the door

**Did I do better? I **_**think **_**I did. I was originally planning this chappy to be full of more boring thoughts but I decided to go with this instead. Enjoy! And review plz too!**

_**~Caryn Foxx**_

"Don't move or the boy dies," one of the Renegades calls from across the room..

I glanced up to a big, burly Renegade with a silver dagger pointed to Lloyd's throat. His eyes met mine, and I found desperation, fear, fury and alarm burning inside of them, his fury dominating his expression. The desperate plea was for me to understand the message he was trying to convey with his eyes. It was clear enough, straightforward: _Save yourself. _But why couldn't I do it?

It was Marcus all over again. My ass or his. The question was, which one should I save? Or at least attempt to. Maybe I should just try to save myself. I don't trust myself to get us out of here alive. Hell, I don't trust myself to save my own ass. If I try to save Lloyd my pathetic skills may end up getting both of us killed.

I owe Lloyd my life. He saved me when I needed it. Do I really have to be all noble and do the same for him? Lloyd told me to save myself, so if that's what I decide to do it's okay right? If he's okay with it, it doesn't make me a bad person. I'm would just be doing what every sane person in the universe would do, so I'm _not _a horrible person.

Right???

But if I could just free him…he could get both of us out of here alive.

NO. BAD Karen. Just get the fuck out of there and save yourself.

_And then _I notice a very conveniently place shelf right above the green haired Renegade holding Lloyd hostage. I do have a long distance attack that should be able to reach it…maybe if I knock it down, it'll catch the Renegade off guard. Just enough so Lloyd can escape and get us the hell out of here.

Shit. Why do I have to be self sacrificing now of all times?

Renegades are advancing on me. I only have one shot before any Renegades who are smart enough can figure out what I'm trying to do. This is one of the many times in life when I wish my aim didn't suck like crap.

I gathered up what mana I could find in my body. _One chance. One chance._ I keep telling myself. About 95% of the time, that doesn't work and I crack under the pressure. But in this case, I keep on gritting my teeth and reminding myself what will happen if I do crack. Another two lives will be leaving this world. Oh yeah, and I'll never see any of my family and friends again.

My hand twitched. I think a Renegade noticed I'm going to attack. He lunges for me, with a funny looking weapon. It's in the shape of a sword…well not really. But it's got a hilt and a blade and everything. But for one thing, the blade is gold. And it's twisted to look like….what the fuck is that? A cow? Or maybe-

"Karen watch out!!!"

"Shit!" I scream. Oh my god the pain. It's worse than that torturing room. Why can't I feel my arms? That is not cool. I looked down, only to see that the cow shaped sword gave me a nice slash all along my right arm. Blood starts spilling out and-fuck. I'm losing my vision. Is my body really so pathetic, that I get dizzy right after I get cut? Good thing I'm left-handed.

Then I remember I'm supposed to free Lloyd. I fumbled around for my fan(s) with no luck. Oh god the pain.

Another burst of agony escapes my lips as another blow connect to my right side and-holy shit I just vomited blood! Please please please don't let me die! I prayed to Martel or whatever god is actually compassionate enough to listen to me. I should've just save myself. I should just ran out and left Lloyd to escape himself. I should've done it, but I didn't.

Oh my god I hate myself now. I'm in a room full of Renegades, and I was naïve enough to think I could save someone else. I can't even save myself! And now I'm going to die, or going to be held hostage again. I don't want to go back to that room, back to that fucking room with the glassy, lifeless eyes, detached heads and blood. I don't want to see more blood and gore, to feel more suffering.

I just want to go home, where my biggest pain was insults from my brother killing my already low self-esteem. 'You have no talents. You suck at everything you do, and you can't ever get anything right. You're a boring, whiny, pathetic crybaby that no one likes. No wonder you don't have any friends." And naggings from my mother. "All you ever do is read and write all day! Do you want to be poor? The people who are successful are the people who give up their free time to study! Why didn't you only get 95% on this test? You should've gotten a hundred!"

I would have given anything to go back to that life. I didn't know I took everything for granted. My family, my friends my life. I hated my mom too many times to count, wishing she would just disappear. Some people don't even have moms. And her nagging is all because she wants the best for me. She wants me to be rich, and successful, and have a good life.

My brother, though he's not perfect. He makes up for his bullying on other things. He can be really cool when's he's in a good mood, and I really enjoy talking to him. He also helps me out with my school work and gives me advice for when I go to high school. As horrible as I thought he may be, I miss him. I miss all my family, my friends, my school, my room.

All of it is just a faint memory now, but I miss the little things that made my life mine. The sizzling steaming sounds of my mom trying out a new recipe, my brother's blaring crappy music, and the roar of the vacuum when my dad's cleaning the front door. At school, the mocks of my friends of being so short. The boring drawl of my teacher during math and science. The excited shrieks of my class makes during an intense game of dodgeball. But most of all, all the good times I had. Biking in the summer with my friends, getting ice cream on main street, or just hanging out in the basements with my family, watching a movie together that both my brother and my dad hates.

And…I tripped over something. I feel, feel the familiar smooth, cold hard surface of the blades, and the familiar floral designs that cover it. It's my fan. I grabbed it with my left hand and slashed the closest Renegade. I winced as he let out a scream of agony. It's a clear shot to that shelf. I should be able to shoot above the head of the advancing Renegades and still hit it.

Now's my chance…

"Ice Pellets!" I scream, aiming in the general direction of where I thought the shelf was. I'm so confused that I can't remember where I am, what I'm trying to do and who is around me. Then I remember. I in the middle of a frickin Renegades base, trying to save my 'friend's' (who I just met) ass and a mob of Renegades are trying to kill me/recapture me and torture me.

I heard a scream, and I looked behind me to see that Lloyd had escaped. Yes! I must've actually hit the shelf and it distracted the Renegade. Now that Lloyd's free, we can get the fuck out.

"Lloyd!! Get out!!" I jumped and shrieked at him while pointing towards the door.

Lloyd nodded, showing he heard me and starts shoving his way to the exit. I try following, but too many Renegades are blocking my way. Do I really have to shed more blood?

It's amazing what the human body is capable of when your life is on the line. However reluctant I was, I ended up spilling more.

"Tiger Slash!" I raised one hand and slashed across a Renegade's chest. Immediately, I started shoving my way out while the Renegades were still recover from shock of my blow. I slashed a few more times before I got out. Lloyd was back their fighting another group of Renegades.

"C'mon you idiot, run!" I yelled.

I dashed up the nearest staircase and made a left turn. Waiit, this is surprisingly like the game. I heard the footsteps of the Renegades behind us. Lloyd must've heard it too.

"Come on! In here." He dashed in the closest door.

I have a bad feeling about this. But it's either taking a chance or die. I'd go with the one that might keep me alive, so I follow Lloyd.

"Lloyd, be careful. I have a bad feeling about this." I warn him.

"Well, we're safe from the Renegades aren't we? And we're alone, there's no one else here."

"Are you sure about that?" A smooth voice comes from behind.

And I suddenly remember the part that Lloyd runs into Yuan's room in order to escape some Renegades.


End file.
